In their recently completed premier auction, Hake’s Auctions set a new house record with a total of $2.9 million. Original art was one of multiple categories that illustrated the auction’s success by performing very well. Encompassing comic book pages, comic strips, toy packaging paintings, and novel covers, the original art section saw several pieces sell for over their preauction estimates.

“As collectors, many of us are in search of that rare, one of a kind item. For collectors of original art, that is every single piece they obtain. That is one of the main driving factors in the value of art. Original comic art has been on the upward trend for decades, but the last few years have seen some truly incredible auction results. Just this auction Hake’s set several record prices for that material,” Hake’s President Alex Winter said.

A trio of original art pieces for Mickey Mouse daily strips were among the top art sales. The February 4, 1931 strip with pencils by longtime Mickey comic artist Floyd Gottfredson and inks by Earl Duvall drew bids to $61,729. The art comes from the “Mickey Mouse vs. Kat Nipp” story showing Mickey fighting the “Toufest Guy in the Kounty” Kat Nipp. The confrontation ends with Kat Nipp snipping off the tip of Mickey’s tail, shocking the mouse. It caused some controversy with readers when it was printed, and has frequently been reprinted for its memorable content. This sale surpassed the high-end estimate by over $25,000 and set a new world record for a Gottfredson strip.

The February 26, 1931 strip by Duvall (the first of his Mickey Mouse syndicate art to ever come to auction) hammered for $36,054, nearly quadruple the high-end estimate. This piece is from the “Mickey Mouse, Boxing Champion” with six panels showing Mickey after his win over Kat Nipp going to visit Minnie and finding what he thinks is another guy seeking her affections.

The October 25, 1930 strip by Gottfredson (his earliest Mickey strip to come to auction) and Hardie Gramatky achieved $24,013. The strip is from the “Mr. Slicker and the Egg Robbers” storyline, the third major story arc of the comic and first written completely by Gottfredson, featuring four panels showing Minnie Mouse and then-suitor Mr. Slicker in her parents’ home.

Action Comics #329 original cover art by Silver Age Superman artist Curt Swan and inked by Sheldon Moldoff took the top comic book art spot at $48,964. The oversized 12-1/2” x 18-3/8” thin artboard features the pen and ink twice-up cover that was originally published by DC in October 1965. The cover is dominated by a large, full body image of Superman in the center wielding the Super-Sword of Krypton and a large Super-Shield.

The Vault of Horror #41 unpublished comic cover original art by Johnny Craig surpassed the $20,000 high-end estimate when it totaled $27,258. The Vault of Horror ended at #40 (December 1954-January 1955), so for this piece EC artist Craig imagined what the cover of #41 would have looked like if it was published.

A full set of Remco 9” action figure window box packaging original art made for the 1980-1981 Universal Monsters toy line was sold in the auction. The Wolfman (Lon Chaney Jr.) oil painting art by Chronister hammered for $15,998, well over the $10,000 high-end estimate. The Creature from the Black Lagoon acrylic art by Uldis Klavins nabbed $12,396 and Frankenstein’s Monster (Boris Karloff) from Bride of Frankenstein oil painting by Chronister grabbed $12,008 – both exceeding their estimates. The Dracula (Robert Quarry) from Count Yorga, Vampire oil painting by Chronister realized $8,968, the Phantom of the Opera (Lon Chaney) acrylic art by Klavins brought $7,788, and the Mummy (Boris Karloff) oil painting by Chronister reached $6,018.

Rube Goldberg daily strip original art from February 20, 1922, with an early Rube Goldberg machine closed at $15,251 – tripling the high-end preauction estimate. Goldberg was famous for creating art with complicated gadgets that perform simple tasks in convoluted ways. The three-panel strip explains how the machine opens the garage door without leaving the car.

Detective Comics #457 page 14 original art by Dick Giordano quadrupled the estimate by selling for $8,177. Published in March 1976, the art was inked by Giordano and Terry Austin. It comes from the “No Hope in Crime Alley” story and shows Batman coming to the aid of Leslie Thompkins when she is attacked by criminals.

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #54 page 5 by Mike Mignola also surpassed its estimate by selling for $7,139 over the $5,000 estimate. This pen and ink art was published in November 1993, just months after Mignola had introduced his creation Hellboy. It contains seven panels of Batman battling a deranged killer in a graveyard.

The Judgement on Janus 1979 book cover original oil painting by Ken Barr tripled its estimate by selling for $6,360. Made for Andre Norton’s sci-fi novel, the art features the main character, Naill, in a futuristic spacesuit carrying a harpoon gun with a crashed spaceship in the background.

The Best of Leigh Brackett sci-fi/fantasy cover preliminary original art by Boris Vallejo crushed the preauction estimate of $1,000 by hammering for $4,549. The mixed media art entitled “Enchantress of Venus” previews a coming conflict as a man approaches a woman who appears to be held captive by a large dragon and knife-wielding assailant.

“We aim to set more record prices for original art in our next premier auction. Along those lines, now is the time to contact us about consignments,” Winter said. “Take advantage of the booming market. We chose to spotlight the original cover art to Action Comics #329 on the front cover of our catalog and it paid off. You could have the next auction catalog cover worthy item.”

All prices include the 18% buyer’s premium. Lists of the top selling items in Part I and Part II of the auction are available on Hake’s website.